WH40K - Orkspendables Trukks with Kromlech Wheels

Not much work done on these in the meantime, but here are some pictures that better show the wheels. I added some brass tubing to the 4 x 4 Trukks to represent transmission shafts.

The rear view shows the little plastic blocks I added to raise the body from the rear axles. This brings the body roughly level, now that there are wheels of the same size all the way around. (In the original model kit, the front wheels have a smaller diameter, so their axles are lower than the rear ones.)

This view shows how the tyres come in left and right varieties. Because I bought 14 wheels (in the four styles sold by Kromlech), I ended up with one extra right hand wheel and missing one left hand wheel. That's only important if you care which way around the tread goes, and I decided that the Orks didn't care about one wheel. So, the centre left wheel (middle of this picture) is the 'wrong' way around.

If you do care, just buy an even number of wheel sets from Kromlech!

WH40K - Orkspendables Trukks with Kromlech Wheels

Here are the wheels I am using for my Ork Trukks, inspired by Expendables 2: The Expendening. These resin wheels are from Kromlech miniatures. The Trukk chassis are just resting on the wheels for now. Because the original design of the Trukk has smaller wheels at the front (and I have adjusted the height of the rear suspension pieces) I will use styrene tubing to make sure that all the axles are the same width. Once they are glued to the Trukks, I will be able to add more plastic bits around the bodies to make that Land Rover shape I am (sort of) after.


Here's the range of four different wheels. Note the relatively small area where the resin mould stub has been removed. A quick bit of filing and a lick of paint and that won't be visible.

You can also see the front and rear of each wheel. The wheels are about the same size as the originals from the Trukk models, with 4mm axle holes.

These wheels are nicely moulded. The detail is reasonably good, for what is supposed to be rubber tyres made from scraps and bolts. There are no bubbles in the resin, and they should paint up very nicely.

The wheels are called 'Raider Wheels'. Kromlech sell them in their eBay store, in two different packs of two (so 14 wheels makes 7 packs.)

 Kromlech also threw in some free samples: an Ork Nob head with German style cap,  a power armour shoulder pad adorned with chainmail and a chaos style head suitable for power armour or a hefty rebel type figure.

WH40K - Orkspendables Trukks - Chassis

The usual slow progress on my Orkspendables Converted Trukks. I ordered some resin wheels from Kromlech's eBay store, so I haven't bothered with the Ork wheels yet. I never really liked the 'nailed on armour plating' look that the GW wheels have, although if the undamaged Kromlech wheels look too neat, I might consider their 'Raider' wheel sets.

Ork Trukk chassis with middle axle and suspension removed. 

So, I built the chassis of one Trukk in the regular way, with axles for six wheels and cut the middle axle part from the chassis of the two other trucks, gluing the ends back on. The white square was just a piece of scrap styrene that happened to be the right size to reinforce the join where the cut was a bit wobbly. (It's not just parts that go into the bits box. Offcuts and scraps can also be useful!)

Another Ork Trukk chassis given the 'cut and shunt' treatment.

I also raised the rear suspension of all these vehicles with some bits of plastic, to make them a little higher off the ground than regular Trukks. This will give them more of a Kustom feel, if only by about 4mm. It also allows me to use large wheels all the way around them, rather than small ones at the front.

The cut out suspension areas make the two 4x4 Trukks much shorter than the original, which isn't really fair for the tabletop if I want these to be played as regular Trukks. However, the Secret Ingredient I will add to each trukk should bring the length back to 'regulation'. I am also tempted by a few other bits in my bits box which aren't really on the movie trucks, but would probably look good on these vehicles. We shall see!

WH40K - Ork Battlewagon with KillKannon

Another project which is taking a looong time from impulse buy to playable model: a KillKannon armed Battlewagon. (Orks are strong advocates of the BFG. They also approve heartily of More Dakka.)

I have made some minor conversions on the hull, adding a few glyph plates, some height to the uprights on the rear deck and closing up the cabin with various spare bits. Most of the work was put into the turret. I used polystyrene tubing for the barrel and mounted that on the gun that comes with the kit. The rear half of the turret is made from the sides of a spare turret, taken from another battlewagon kit. 

The gun barrel is much larger than the one supplied with the Deff Rolla sprue (extra bits that you can buy from GW or some games shops.) I think it is also a bit smaller than the resin Supa Kannon from Forge World, but it would probably be acceptable to represent that weapon in an Apocalypse game.

When I put the turret on the vehicle, it looked like it was just sitting there. So, I used some leftover parts of the turret to make a sort of basket. I also used one of the 'boarding ramp' pieces to make a ladder on the basket. It would be a tight squeeze for an Ork but I figure that the gun is operated by Grots.

WH40K - Ork Trukk finally painted

I have had a few days off work and therefore the opportunity to do some painting (at last!).
Many months after I bought it I have finally finished one of my Ork Trukks (bottom of that post for the unpainted version). I added the horizontal roll bars at the back - they are just polystyrene tube or girder with bits of metal and masking tape. I also added some bits to the sides to make the tray look like it is one piece, with glyph plates and scrap plastic, so that they fill in the gaps. (These are where boarding ladders can be glued if desired.)

The main reason for converting them relates to my only criticism of the Games Workshop Ork Trukk model kit: It is a wonderful model of an Ork vehicle, that looks like a truly individual creation, bashed together by a mad engineer. That means that loads of models look like the same truly individual creation! So I convert mine to make them look a bit different to each other and any others on the table top.

The trukk was undercoated in Citadel Black spray, oversprayed with Tamiya Dark Red and then bashed about a bit with Citadel Tin Bitz and Bolt Gun Metal. Dirt was added with a Floquil Enamel Paint Marker, but this was a bit shiny, so I dusted a little bit of Tamiya Light Sand from the spray can, just around the wheels and chassis. The runes and emblems were picked out in a variety of paint markers: Pentel, Zig and Gundam Marker. These pens are also a bit smelly and sometimes paint comes out more thickly than with a brush - but they are great for quick touch ups and Ork graffiti. Lastly, the paintwork was covered with a light coat of Tamiya Clear.

WH40K - Another Ork 'Big Gun'

I have built yet another 'Big Gun' for the Orks. Like the last one, this one is mostly from parts from the Trukk and Battlewagon sprues. Unfortunately I could not find the larger wheels that came with the original Kannon, Lobba and Zzzap Guns (not without buying the whole blister pack at 'collector' prices, anyway). So, I bought the wheels for the Warhammer Fantasy Battles Dwarf Cannon from a 'bits' seller. It turns out they are a lot smaller than the original wheel. However, they look solid and not entirely out of place, so I used them.

Other parts included the Zzzap gun from the Battlewagon, a boarding plank from the Trukk and a metal Big Gob piece from Ghazghkull Thraka.

Edit: If you haven't opened up a Dwarf Cannon and were thinking of buying the wheels as 'bits', be aware that they are considerably smaller than the old Ork Kannon wheels or plastic chariot/wagon wheels. They are about 12mm (0.5 in) across. However, I do think they look good as parts for WH40K weapons, and they certainly shouldn't look out of place as wheels on Ork or Imperial Guard heavy weapons, trolleys, carts or servicing equipment.

WH40K - Trukk and Battlewagon Wheels

There is a slight difference between the large wheels that come with the Battlewagon and the Trukk model kits. They are not quite the same in each kit. Both have the 'round' and 'square' style wheels, but the rear axles on the trukk are a tiny bit smaller than the ones on the battlewagon. Also, the battlewagon wheels have a bit of a raised rim on the inside of the wheel, where the axle goes. This means that the battlewagon wheels are a little loose if they go on the truck, or the trukk wheels are a little difficult to put on the battlewagon axles. This shouldn't be a challenge for even an amateur conversion - just use some imagination and your hobby knife... carefully!